1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flip-type portable terminal, and in particular, to a 100 mm-or-smaller portable terminal having dual opposing flip covers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a portable terminal refers to a portable device such as a hands-free telephone, CT-2, a cordless telephone, and a car phone. For implementing communication functions, a portable mobile terminal makes a radio communication with a base station. Likewise, the cordless telephone makes a radio communication with a fixed device.
The portable terminal has been developed following the current trend of highly sensitive and miniaturized electronic parts. Due to its high acoustic sensitivity, a flip-type portable terminal has a popularity over a bar-type one. That is, the flip-type advantageously is provided with a flip cover and a body, which is configured such that the flip cover prevents malfunction of a plurality of function buttons by protecting them and acts as a voice reflecting board during a call.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a conventional flip-type portable terminal includes a flip cover 200, a body 100, and a flip cover folding device (not shown) for connecting the flip cover 200 and the body 100, and is designed to automatically transit to a speaking mode with the flip cover 200 opened at a speech enabling angle. An antenna 600 is positioned on an upper end of the body 100. A speaker 500 is positioned below the antenna 600, and an LCD (i.e., Liquid Crystal Display) window 150 is positioned under the speaker 500. A plurality of function keys are arranged under the LCD window 150. A bar-type portable terminal has a microphone in a lower end portion thereof, while the flip-type version has a microphone 300 in the flip cover 200 to keep a speech enabling distance between the speaker 500 and the microphone 300.
The requirement of spacing an earpiece from a mouthpiece by a predetermined distance places limits on miniaturization of portable terminals. The distance between a transmitter and a receiver in a portable terminal should be 14 cm or larger. To simultaneously satisfy such a distance requirement and the demand for smaller size, a microphone is typically provided in a flip cover of the current portable terminals.
However, although the above flip-type portable terminals may satisfy the demand for a smaller size, they may malfunction because the flip cover confined in the lower portion thereof makes it difficult to space the transmitter from the receiver by a sufficient distance. Another drawback is that the LCD is too small to display a sufficient number of characters. As a result, the conventional flip-type portable terminals cannot reliably provide communications service. In addition, an LCD window, exposed outside, is vulnerable to shock and scratches, thereby marring the appearance of the terminal.